Telephone-support



(No Model".)

T. W. LANE. TELEPHONE SUPPORT.

Patented June" 16, 1885.

Im/En-tur UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS XV. LANE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TELEPHONE-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,438, dated June 16, 1885.

Application filed March 30, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. LANE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a telephonesupport for use at telephone-exchanges or central offices, adapted to support a telephone in convenient relation to the operators ear, the telephone having no connection with the operators head, so that he can remove his ear from and apply it to the telephone at will.

The invention consists in a standard composed of two telescopic sections, one of which is connected by a universal joint at its lower end to a chair-back or other support behind the operator, while the other is bent so as to extend upwardly at one side of the operators head and hold an ear-telephone in convenient relation to the operators ear, said upper section being provided with rests or arms which bear upon the operators body and cause the standard to conform to any variations in the position of the body, all of which I will now proceed to describe.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved support. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section of a portion of the telescopic standard and its supporting-socket. Figs. 3 and 4represcnt moditieations.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the telescopic standard, which is composed of the sections 2 3, the one being tubular and receiving the other, which slides freely in it. The tubular section 2 is provided with a ball at its lower end, which fits in a socket, 0, attached to a chair or other suitable support, (I, which is behind the operators back. The ball and socket enable the standard to be inclined in any direction. The section 3 is bent or offset, as shown in Fig. 1, so that its upper end stands over the opera Lors shoulder in position to hold an ear-telephone, e, in convenient relation to the operators ear, the telephone being secured to the section 3 in the present instance by a set-screw, f, entering an apertured shank on the back of the telephone, the section 3 passing through said shank.

4 4 represent two curved arms or wings pivoted at 5 to the section 3, and formed to rest on the operators shoulder, and constitute a sufficient connection between the operators body and the telescopic standard to cause the latter to move with the operators body, and thus keep the telephone in suitable proximity to the head.

It will be seen that the telescopic construction of the standard enables it to be lengthened or shortened by the nrovements of the op erators body, the standard being lengthened by a forward movement or inclination of the body and shortened by a backward movement. The universal or ball andsocket joint connecting the standard to the chair or support enables the operator to move freely in any desired direction. The section 3 has a washer or piston, 6, of rubber or other suitable yielding material, fitting somewhat closely the interior of the section 2, to prevent noise from the sliding movement of the section 3, and to cause sufiicient friction between the two sections to enable the section 2 to mainly support the section 3 and its attachments, so that the weight of the telephone and the devices that support it will not be felt by the operator. Loops or straps i may be attached to the opera-tors coat or dress to receive the wings 4 4. The portion of the section 3 above the joint 7, Fig. 1, may be made of steel and magnetized, so as to serve as the magnet of the telephone, the portion of the section below said joint being of brass or other nonmagnetic material.

Fig. 3 shows a spiral spring, 3, as an equivalent of the ball and socket in connecting the standard to the chair or support.

Fig. 4 shows a modification in which a spiral spring, 2, is substituted for the section 2, said spring being attached at its lower end to the support d, and at its upper end to the section 3, and by its elasticity makes the standard as a whole extensible and contractible in length. In this case the stand 3 is preferably provided with arms or wings 4 4, extending under the operators arms, in addition to the arms 4 4, resting'on the shoulders.

I claim- 1. A telephone support composed of an extensible and contractible oscillating standard, connected at its lower end to a support and adapted to hold a telephone at its upper end, as set forth.

5 2. A telephone-support composed of two telescopic sections, the one formed at its lower end to be universally pivoted to a support, and the other adapted to hold a telephone at its upper end, and provided with wings or 10 arms formed to bear on the operator, as set forth.

3. A telephone-support composed of two telescopic sections, the one having a yielding piston or washer within the other, as set 15 forth.

4. The combination of a chair or support 

